From the mail bag: K.W. asks: What do you say when someone has asked you to read something they’ve written, and it really stinks? I don’t want to hurt my friend’s feelings, because I know she spent a lot of time on it. She thinks the story she’s written is ready to be sent off to a publisher. I think it’s ready to be sent to the circular file. Help! I’m sure you must get this a lot.
As a … Read More
Long ago, I discovered that writing was a way for me to harness, focus, and direct my active imagination. It started out as a way for me to keep myself from worrying about things I couldn’t change. It’s progressed into a form of meditation; a daily practice of contemplation, which is nothing more than the effort to bring the mind to observe the outer physical world and the inner reality of thoughts and emotions.
Another way of expressing this idea … Read More
Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the cool weather and the easing of outdoor chores. I love the light play of the sun on brilliantly colored foliage. I love the crisp smell in the air. There’s a quickening about this time of year that always stirs me. I don’t know why, but Fall also reminds me of my father. Maybe because it was his favorite time of year too.
Today, I had to be inside for the … Read More
Yesterday, I had the good fun of speaking with a terrific group of kids who were spending their week at Mahogany Ridge KidsCamp. It’s a camp where kids and their dogs get to play and learn together. Theresa Richmond, the camp director and trainer, (whom some of you may remember from Dogs of Dreamtime) invited me to give a talk on what it’s like to write about dogs.
As with training dogs, writing about dogs is best learned by … Read More
